Box Score 
ST. LOUIS – The Tufts University volleyball team had its 2021 season come to an end on Thursday with a three-set loss to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC) in the NCAA "Elite 8".
Head Coach Cora Thompson's Jumbos, who were playing at the national quarterfinals for the third time in program history, finished the year with a 21-6 record. The Blugolds improve to 33-3 overall and move on to the "Final Four" where they will play top seed Juniata on Friday.
Tufts twice had set point in the third to keep their season alive, but couldn't get the point they needed. UWEC ran off three consecutive points to end the match with a 27-25 third-set victory on a kill by Kendra Baierl.
In the opening set, UWEC had pulled away to lead 18-11 by scoring nine straight points led by three kills from Arianna Barrett and two aces served by Taylor Scalia. The Jumbos rallied to tie the score at 22-22 though, as Jennifer Ryan put down two kills and had a block assist. The Blugolds would score three of the final four points and win it 25-23 on a kill by Jordan Witzel.
UWEC ran away with a 25-15 victory in the second set. Two kills each by Barrett and Makenzie Bachmann put them up 8-3, and then four in a row including a kill each a shared block by Baierl and Witzel pushed the Blugolds' advantage to 14-7. The Jumbos wouldn't get closer than eight the rest of the way. Charlie Nelson's tip kill won the set for the Blugolds for a 2-0 lead.
The third set was tight throughout, with UWEC opening an early 8-4 lead and Tufts charging back to go ahead 17-15. The score was tied 20-20 when the Jumbos earned back-to-back points on kills by Jennelle Yarwood and Cate Desler. UWEC got the next two though with Barrett's consecutive kills. A great save and point by Maddie Yu made it 24-23 giving Tufts set point, but Barrett had another kill to even the score. Maya Lightfoot rose above the net and drove home a point for a 25-24 Jumbo lead, but a Tufts error tied the match again before the Blugolds scored three in a row to win it.
Rileigh Farragher led the Jumbos with nine kills in the match, while Desler had seven and Lightfoot six. Stephanie Lee's 18 digs and three blocks each by Grace Legris, Lightfoot and Ryan led Tufts defensively.
Barrett was the star of the match with 18 kills and two errors on 30 swings for a .533 success percentage. Bachmann and Witzel both had nine kills, with Nelson setting up for 36 assists. She also served three aces and had 11 digs. Scalia's 13 digs led defensively and Baierl finished with four blocks.
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